There are only a few games that truly capture the essence of being a legendary gunslinger in the wild west. It’s a task that normally takes a convincing cast or immersive setting, but Dust & Neon obtains this through a different route. Instead, Dust & Neon leads with rich, meticulous gameplay that demands attention to each decision's benefits and downsides, and adds the finishing touch with a unique twist on the twin-stick shooter genre.
Developed by David Marquardt Studios, Dust & Neon is a top-down twin-stick shooter rogue lite that places the player in the shoes of an unnamed cowboy with only one job: eradicate the western robots that have overrun society. After a brief introduction to the mad scientist who brought the gunslinger back to life, the player will quickly be thrown into the western setting with a revolver as their only companion.
The game’s core structure is built around its map, which is split into four separate locations that spawn random missions to rob trains and destroy enemy bases or supplies. The goal of each mission is to gather enough experience points to eventually challenge the boss of that region and, once defeated, move to the next location to do the same.
While the premise might sound generic, Dust & Neon separates itself from other twin-stick shooters with its approach to gun mechanics and resource management. The player will only have access to three types of weapons: a revolver, shotgun, and rifle. Each weapon has a limited supply of ammo and must be manually reloaded between every emptied round.
This creates a level of interactivity and immersion that many twin-stick shooters lack, as players will have to thoughtfully dismantle their enemies based on their ammo count and reload time. On top of managing this, Dust & Neon utilizes a cover system that helps recreate shootouts based on a hint of realism.
No matter how legendary the unnamed gunslinger is, the player will die just as easily as any other if they try to run-and-gun with no strategy or cover. Instead, they must meticulously move from crate to crate, manually reloading their triple barrel shotgun, and wait for the enemy to peek around the wrong corner before making a move. It's a system that creates dynamic gameplay for every encounter no matter the other elements that may lay stagnant in comparison.
Outside the refined core game loop is where Dust & Neon lacks some diversity. There are a very limited number of mission types for the player to engage in, and each locale is only visibly separated by a small margin. One location might feature visual elements of a dirty swamp or a western village, but all will feature similar buildings, designs, items, and enemy types.
However, the similarity of each environment or mission type is overshadowed by the risk and reward system that comes into play. As mentioned above, success is built heavily on ammo management and the discovery of better guns. To do this, the player will have to consistently make internal decisions on whether or not to explore a tavern or jail for more loot, knowing full well that taking on the extra enemies could result in their demise.
There are other elements to help increase the gunslinger's likelihood of success, such as a skill tree and several buffs that are purchasable through different shops. The skill tree is somewhat small, but offers a surprising amount of flexibility in the gunslinger’s play style. One may prefer to bolster their ammo capacity and bullet damage to help make them an unstoppable cowboy juggernaut. On the other side, the player could target their main strategy as health regeneration, which would allow them to regain health from defeated enemies and ammo crates.
Dust & Neon does a fantastic job at giving the player the option to defeat enemies how they see fit. Yet, this choice becomes less relevant as the gunslinger encounters the six uninspired boss fights. Each boss typically has their own unique weapon - an arm blade, a massive Gatling gun, or a defensive shield - but they lack the creativity of the game’s predominant gameplay.
The typical nature of finding cover and defeating enemies one by one through strategy goes out the window during these moments. Instead, it's replaced by spongy bosses that need to be pumped full of lead while the gunslinger runs about. There are a few moments in the boss encounters where some puzzle-like problems present themselves, such as shooting barrels to destroy an enemy's shield, but none that made these experiences overtly enjoyable.
Lastly, Dust & Neon does have some small performance issues on Nintendo Switch. There were two separate occasions where all buildings, ammo, loot boxes, and environmental objects completely disappeared. It didn't prevent completing the mission, but the lack of visibility made it quite challenging. Besides these small annoyances, there were no other bugs that hampered the overall experience.
Dust & Neon makes a strong debut as a unique twin-stick shooter rogue-lite. The moment-to-moment gameplay requires thoughtful decisions and patience, which results in epic shootouts, satisfying gun mechanics, and a solid progression system. While the boss fights might leave some players asking for more, the overall experience of leading a legendary gunslinger to victory is one most won’t forget.
Dust & Neon releases February 16th on PC and Nintendo Switch. Game Rant was provided with a Nintendo Switch code for the purpose of this review.